Worse than Betrayal
by Stelra Etnae
Summary: An unexpected meeting with a person who used to be her favourite cousin brings all the hurt Dora has felt through the years to the surface. A story of family ties, friendship, hurt and forgiveness. Not romance.


Andromeda Tonks nee Black smiled at her cousin as she prepared to leave the house.

"It was good of you to agree to take care of Dora while Ted and I celebrate our anniversary, Sirius," she said as her husband put a shawl around her shoulders.

"I don't need to be taken care of!" Seven (almost eight, thank you very much) year old Nymphadora Tonks told them indignantly.

"No problem, Andi. We get along like a house on fire," Sirius replied cheerfully.

"Just don't actually set the house on fire," Andromeda retorted dryly.

Sirius pretended to be hurt. "Andi, you know I won't do that! Well, you two had better be on your way. Time is of the essence." He proceeded to chase the couple out of their own house.

Laughing, they complied. Soon Ted's car turned out of the driveway. Ever since one particularly disastrous dinner at Diagon Alley where they had unfortunately encountered Lucius an d Narcissa, they decided to go 'all-Muggle' for the anniversary celebration.

Sirius turned back to his young cousin with a grin. "Want to go somewhere?'

Dora looked at him warily. "Where? I'm not going anywhere until you tell me."

Sirius laughed as he ruffled her pink-purple hair. "You've been studying, haven't you? You'll make a good Auror someday. Moody will approve of you. Constant vigilance!" The soft hair beneath his fingers turned cherry red at the compliment.

"So where are we going?" she asked again as she followed Sirius to the fireplace.

"My friend's place," he said, picking her up. Before she could protest, he threw a handful of Floo powder into the fire. The next moment, they were gone.

* * *

><p>"We're here, Prongsie boy!" Sirius called out merrily the moment they reached the home of the Potters in Godric's Hollow.<p>

Lily's head appeared in the doorway leading to the nursery. "Sirius, be quiet!" she admonished with a stern glare.

"Sorry, Lily," he said as he walked towards her. Dora trailed behind, looking curiously around the house. "I brought Andi's daughter Dora to see Harry."

Lily smiled at the young girl, whose hair immediately turned sunshine yellow. "He was just sleeping but you probably woke him up." She sent a half-hearted glare at Sirius. He raised his hands in surrender.

It was proven true as they stepped into the room. James waved from his place next to the cot. Baby Harry looked over and gurgled. "Pafoo!"

"Yes, Padfoot is here to see you. And this is Dora." Sirius held Dora up so that she could see. "Dora, meet baby Harry."

"Oa." Harry greeted happily.

"Wotcher, Harry."

Harry smiled and reached up towards her. Dora obliged by allowing his small hand to clasp her own. She shook it solemnly.

Lily smiled at the exchange between the two children. "Why don't you play with Harry, Dora?" She lifted Harry from the cot and placed him on the soft carpet. Dora sat down next to him.

The adults watched indulgently as Harry tried to climb onto Dora's lap. Dora pinched his cheek and Harry gurgled happily. Soon, Dora started amusing him by changing her hair color.

"With the prophecy hanging over our heads, we haven't dared to take Harry out of the house for a while. Thanks for bringing Dora over, Sirius."

"No problem. Now about the Fidelius Charm…" The adults wandered into the living room to discuss more serious matters.

Dora watched him until a hard yank on her hair (now bright blue) brought her attention back to the baby. "That wasn't nice," she told him, flicking him on the nose. Harry looked back at her innocently.

* * *

><p>Halloween, 1981<p>

Dora was dressed as a ghost. Instead of donning the customary white sheet favored by Muggles, she had covered her clothes with luminous paint. The pale complexion and silver hair were perfected using her Metamorphmagus ability. The result was quite satisfactory, she decided as she glanced into the mirror. Now, she sat in the living room impatiently waiting for her favorite cousin to arrive.

"Mama, when is Sirius coming?" she asked when no one emerged from the fireplace.

"He should be here any moment. Probably lost track of time," Andromeda assured her.

She waited for several hours, until her parents finally ushered her to bed. "But Sirius promised to bring me to see baby Harry!" she protested.

"You must have heard wrongly, Dora. Perhaps he said tomorrow."

Dora was adamant. "He said Halloween!"

"It's getting late. You'll have to go tomorrow even if he comes today. Now be a good girl and sleep."

* * *

><p>1 November, 1981<p>

When Dora came downstairs, her mother was crying.

"Mama?"

At the sound of her daughter's worried voice, Andromeda wiped away her tears. "Don't worry, Dora. Mama's fine."

Dora clambered onto the sofa next to her mother. "Mama, did Sirius come?" To her dismay, Andromeda's tears started flowing again. "What's wrong?'

"Sirius won't be coming, Dora."

"But he promised to bring me to see baby Harry!"

"Dora… Yesterday, he did something bad to Harry's parents."

"But… But…" Dora couldn't accept that. The Sirius she knew brought her to see Harry because Harry was lonely. He called Harry's parents using affectionate nicknames. He smiled when Harry called him 'Pafoo'. No matter what, Sirius would never do anything to harm them.

The whole world thought that Sirius Black had betrayed the Potters. Dora knew better.

* * *

><p>1995<p>

Her eyes were large as she followed her mentor through the hallway of what she had been told was the current headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It looked more like a morgue. She eyed a particularly ugly troll leg umbrella stand and gave it a wide berth.

As they neared the end of the hallway, she could hear voices.

"I'll introduce you to the members..." Moody was saying in his low gruff voice, but she wasn't listening. She had recognized one voice coming from the kitchen as one that she had never expected to heard ever again.

She stormed forward and flung open the door. She heard her companion swearing and rushing after her but she ignored him. She ignored everyone in the room except for the man standing in front of her.

"Give one very good reason for me not to hex you right now," she told him in a menacing tone, her wand pointed straight at his face.

Sirius was frozen in place like a deer in the headlights. For a long moment, neither of them moved.

"Sirius is innocent," someone said beside her.

"I know." She continued to glare at Sirius. "Well? I'm still waiting," she said icily.

"Dora..."

"Don't call me so familiarly, you traitor."

"I didn't do it, Dora. I didn't..."

"You may not have killed Lily and James, but you still betrayed their trust. You hurt everyone who loved you."

"Dora..."

She couldn't keep it in any longer. "Why were you so reckless!" she yelled, her eyes stinging. "You made Mother cry. You left Remus all alone. You left Harry alone. You promised to bring me see Harry on Halloween, and what did you do? Landed yourself in Azkaban, you bloody prat!"

One moment later, she was in his arms and sobbing onto his shirt. She felt like a five-year-old again. Sirius smoothed down her hair comfortingly, just as he had often done when she was a child.

"So you forgive me?" he whispered, his voice thick with tears. Some time during their exchange, the other people had silently left the room, allowing them their privacy.

"I'm soft-hearted. Don't expected Mother to be so forgiving. She'll probably give you her 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' treatment."

"I can handle that."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well, I hope that you liked this! Please review!<strong>_


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